Seven-year-old Zainab Ansari’s rapist executed in Pakistan

TIL Desk/World/Lahore/ Seven-year-old Zainab Ansari’s rapist was executed by Pakistan in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail at 5:30 am (local time) on Wednesday. The rapist, Imran Ali, was executed in the presence of Magistrate Adil Sarwar and Zainab’s father Muhammad Amin. An ambulance also arrived at the spot, along with Ali’s brother and two of his friends.

The jail authorities arranged a 45-minute meeting for the convict and his family on Tuesday, before the impending execution. Ali was sentenced to 21 counts of death, three life sentences and 23 years in jail by an Anti-Terrorism Court in February after being nabbed by the police forces on January 23.

Ali had confessed to raping nine girls, including Zainab Ansari, whose body was found from a garbage heap on January 9 after she went missing from her aunt’s house on January 4. Autopsy reports indicated that the minor had been raped before being strangulated to death.

The minor’s death sparked international outrage, as DNA tests confirmed Ali’s role in the girl’s rape and eventual death. A Joint Investigation Team was formed to nab the accused, who was taken into custody within the three-day time limit set by Pakistan’s Supreme Court.